Mimi Moloney arrived into the world a few weeks early. Weighing just 4.6lbs at birth, she spent some time in a neonatal unit.
The newcomer wasn’t impressed and, remembers her mother Jan, baby Mimi pulled out her tubes as if indicating it was time to go home.
It was an early illustration of the tenacity that has propelled the Cork gymnast to enjoy success at senior level at such a young age. At 16, she will make her senior European Championships debut in Zagreb on Thursday.
Here’s another example. In her first national competition, Moloney ran into the vault. It left a physical mark on her nose that took a few years to vanish, but no mental scar – she got up and asked to do the routine again, even though she couldn’t register a score.
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Her fortitude was put to the test two years ago in Rimini, when she was Ireland’s sole representative in the Junior Europeans. It was about learning to cope with the pressure of competing on her own while rivals had the support of full teams around them, and a top 24 finish was an excellent outcome.
Certainly, it has been a rapid rise for Moloney to make the senior team but she arrived in Croatia at the end of last week having banked plenty of confidence and experience.
She finished runner-up to Ireland’s top women’s gymnast, Emma Slevin, in the national all-around championships in May, competing strongly across all four women’s artistic gymnastics apparatuses – floor exercise, balance beam, vault and uneven bars.
Moloney went one better the following month when she won the all-around gold in the prestigious Šalamunov Memorial event in Slovenia.
She believes she is ready for this next step. “I’m very excited since it’s my first one, it’s the biggest week of my career so far,” Moloney says.
“It’s going to be a different experience to the Juniors, but all the past competitions have improved my confidence.
“It’s great to be going with a team and having other people around, and we’ve a great team competing. We’ll all be able to encourage each other and there’s a good team spirit. Everyone wants the best for each other.
“It’s always good to have people like Emma to encourage you, and we encourage each other.”
That sense of togetherness will be important for an Irish team that is without the injured Halle Hilton.
Slevin, Bláthnaid Higgins, Maeve McGuinness and Moloney will seek to gain qualification for the Worlds in October through their performances over the next four days.
Moloney enjoyed swimming and playing hockey as a youngster before committing fully to gymnastics about four years ago. What attracted her was the variety involved in the routines.
“Having the four apparatus is interesting, there are so many different skills, like if one’s not for you then there’s more options,” she said. “And I like to compete on the floor, it’s definitely my favourite.”
But her expectations for Zagreb are deliberately modest. “I’m just looking to go and do a clean competition. I don’t have a lot of expectations. I know there’s a lot of other people competing,” she said. “Enjoying it is the main thing. If you enjoy it, it will all go well.”
Moloney trains with Douglas and regularly joins the Irish squad sessions at Abbotstown, usually travelling up for a weekend each month.
Her transition year at Scoil Mhuire also gave her the opportunity to explore interests away from the gym, including a trip to Paris, a school play, coaching in a gym and shadowing a physiotherapist.
“I have a lot of dreams and hopes, so we’ll see where it goes,” she said. “I like to keep my school and gym quite separate, but they do know and they’re very supportive.”
If Moloney is taking her first steps into senior European competition, McGuinness is doing the same, albeit with a different target in mind.
The 18-year-old Dubliner has already experienced senior competition this year and believes that will help her deal with the heightened occasion in Zagreb. More importantly, she arrives with a clear objective.
“The goal would be to qualify for the Worlds,” McGuinness said. “It’s a hard task to do, but I think this is the best chance we’ve had.”
McGuinness’s own gymnastics story began when she followed her two older sisters into the sport and, shortly after turning five, joined alongside her twin Sophie. The pair progressed together, eventually competing at the Junior Europeans.
Her sisters have since moved on, while Sophie stopped competing last year, but Maeve has continued to progress.
Now she trains at Abbotstown three or four times a week, alongside an additional club session, while preparing to enter her Leaving Certificate year.
“It’s a really nice environment that’s created here. I love everyone that I train with, it makes it fun and lighthearted,” she said.
“I also like the challenge that it gives me. It helps me in school because I don’t have as much time and I have to prioritise being productive at home, so it’s helped me with my time-management skills.”
Engineering or science may be among her possible college choices. And while she intends to begin college in Ireland, the US collegiate system is now firmly on her radar.
That possibility would have seemed more distant before Slevin made the leap to the US and thrived in the NCAA system over the past year.
“Emma’s definitely been a trailblazer for the sport in many aspects,” McGuinness said. “I wouldn’t have thought about college gymnastics until she had done it, so it’s been really helpful to see.”
However, for now, there is a European Championships to navigate for two of Ireland’s brightest young prospects.
